I’ve been wondering when these little RFID gadgets will start to make a presence in the home. Big companies have done pretty amazing things with their supply chains using RFID, but what use will a geeky household be able to make of RFID. There hasn’t been much.
I was interested to see an email this morning from Violet, the makers of the Nabaztag. This company is definitely “out there”. I’ve tried explaining the Nabaztag to visitors and they just look funny when you tell them “it is a WiFi Rabbit”. Then it starts talking and moving its ears and they really wonder. Both Violet and Ambient Devices, makers of the Ambient Orb, are doing some really interesting things bringing the web into the real world. Mir:ror is Violet’s newest product. This video explains it best.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NruxD1ZDdig[/youtube]
It’s interesting. In essence the stamps are just RFID tags and they have made a consumer friendly RFID reader (the mirror). I can think of a couple of neat things to do with this, particularly if you keyed it with home automation. For example, take your keys and swipe them on the mirror to turn off all the lights in the house when you leave. I would love that.
It will be interesting to see what kind of applications people think of for RFID in the home. This is a cool first step.
Update: My friend John Riedl just posted about this on his blog as well.
Jamie,
I love this category. Why aren’t people using RFID to track commonly lost objects? Buy 15 pack at cost co and tag your keys, kids blanket, cell phone, with a RFID. Then use the web to find it. How expensive are they? Can you use them to locate something with a few feet of accuracy?
@Sam,
I agree with you about the potential of RFID for simple home utility. Even something as simple as tracking books in your house could be nice for those with a library.
The use case you describe is challenged though as you would need RFID receivers throughout your house. RFID’s range is short. In order to do a “Where in my house are my keys?” you would need a large number of receivers living on WiFi to avoid cables. Expensive.
However, tagging books, DVD’s, personal items and then using a portable RFID reader seems very viable. Or even just having a reader at your doorway to know when things are “in” or “out”.
Will be interesting to see if this develops into anything interesting. The Violet product is really simple, but could crack this new market open a sliver.
well I don’t know what the hype is about. I tried to buy the damn thing but all the company wants to sell me is one of those rabbits. the rabbits are cool but I want rfid.
I don’t live in London!